POT OF GOLD: Did Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s trusted, troubled strategist shake down Texas hemp growers?

In the Texas Observer TPJ's Andrew Wheat exposes a political consultant's shake down of Texas hemp growers.

 Read the full story at the Texas Observer.

Report highlights RRC progress on designating critical energy infrastructure.

A new report from Commission Shift and Texans for Public Justice finds that most facilities on the natural gas supply chain have been designated critical. Poor agency record keeping procedures leave questions about which facilities have been granted or denied exceptions to critical infrastructure designation. Confidentiality requirements leave the public in the dark about which facilities will actually be required to be weatherized, while a handful of private companies enjoy special access to regulators and the electricity supply chain map.

Access the new report at Commission Shift.

Washington Post: 7 years later, still no trial for Ken Paxton

AUSTIN, Texas — Not many people charged with felony crimes go seven years without ever standing trial. One of them is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

 

Read the full story at the Washington Post.

From OPEN SECRETS: Conflicts at Texas Railroad Commission

 

While Texas’ top oil and gas regulators were deciding whether to permit a disputed oil waste disposal site, their campaigns raised tens of thousands of dollars from donors tied to the case.

Read the news at Open Secrets.

Whistleblowers Say Paxton Lying About Allegations

Read the latest about Ken Paxton and the whistleblowers accusing him of lying on the campaign trail at the Texas Tribune.

AG Paxton: Texas Exceptionalism on Corruption

TPJ's Andrew Wheat's essay on the corruption trail of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

 New in the Texas Observer.  

Remember freezing February at election time

By Tom "Smitty" Smith for the Dallas Morning News 

Opinion piece urges consumers to hold officials accountable for failure to require power plant weatherization.

Read Smitty's op-ed.

TPJ & Commission Shift Release 2nd 'Captive Agency' Report

The second in a series of reports called Captive Agency exposes deep conflicts among Texas Railroad Commissioners.  The latest report reveals that two thirds of the three current commissioners' campaign war chests were provided by the oil and gas industry.  The report takes a deep dive into Commission Chair Wayne Christian’s personal financial statements revealing potential conflicts of interest. The report also details campaign contributions received by the commissioners while deciding particular cases.

The Captive Agency reports propose a number of pro-consumer reforms.

 

Captive Agency: Report Details Conflicts at Railroad Commission

A report prepared by Texans for Public Justice and Commission Shift examines personal financial statements from the three railroad commissioners and exposes ties to the industry they regulate.

First in a series, the report reveals systemic problems with the railroad commission’s conflict of interest policies that allow commissioners to profit from the companies that they oversee.

Drill down into the Captive Agency report here.

The Top Dogs: 196 Donors Gave $259 Million in 2020 State Elections

Texas’s top 196 individual and institutional political contributors collectively sunk $259 million into the state’s two-year 2020 election cycle, equivalent to 90 percent of the $289 million that candidates for Texas public offices raised in that period, according to Texas Ethics Commission data. These top contributors gave anywhere from $350,000 to $17 million apiece.

See the list of the 196 Texas Top Dogs.